Chapter 13

The hawk is upon me and the cat's coming too

I allowed Malachite to shrink down so we didn't scare anyone too much, and headed the rest of the way to the monolith on foot. As we got closer we saw people flying to and from the door in the floating tower, from tents arrayed below it. A man in robes rushed out to meet us, and greeted Snarly warmly.

"Barnabus, you're safe!" he gushed, taking his hand and pumping it. "After the attack we were worried you had been in the city when it happened and perished. I'm glad you made it out all right. Tell me, was the key destroyed? Is it safe?"

"It's safe," he told the man. "I'm sorry, remind me of your name again?"

"Why Barnabus, it's me Joris. We've known each other for years. Though I do have to say it was odd to see you all approaching on foot. And were you taller a moment ago, Gorde?"

Malachite's eyes narrowed.

"Ha ha, Gorde!" I teased.

"I don't understand," Joris told us, looking confused and at me. Whoops.

"Ah, yes, we were close to the city when the attack happened. Magic in that area has been affected and even now my mana core feels-" ugh, how to make an excuse for not knowing the same spells as my counterpart here? "-itchy. My spells aren't coming out right, which I hope is temporary. Is there any indication of what was done?"

"Oh my that does sound serious," he agreed. "And no, we've been too busy with the ritual to investigate the town. Likely some filthy 'natural' magic user that hopefully blew themselves up along with the place. Someone can look you over I'm sure, but for now you're just in time. We're at the critical point in the ritual we've just been holding it steady until you arrived with the key. Let's get you up there so you can deliver it personally. The Prelate has been anxiously awaiting your return."

Return? Why did we appear on the south side of the city. If we left from here-

"Just as a point of interest," Barnabus spoke up, "these others are known to you?"

"Your traveling companions? Yes, of course, what is the matter with you Barnabus you're acting out of sorts."

"Seeing the aftermath of the attack has led me to be a bit more cautious," he explained. "What are their names?"

"Why this is Arrys,"

Yes! Wait why is looking at- oh come on!

"And this is Helvena."

I guess it could be worse. At least I'm Helvena and not Gorde.

"Fine," Barnabus agreed. "With that cleared up let's get this key delivered."

And maybe get back to our own time? But I don't get it. What's the 'folly' or the 'essence' we had to 'grasp' to 'change the course?' We have no idea if changing anything here would be good or bad. If we prevent someone in this time from fighting the Gloom, we may return to a world of darkness. If we could even get back at all. We don't know enough history, especially related to these four random people, to know if anything we do is a change and if that change would be good or bad. We can only go forward with what seems the best course for the moment. Better to go back to our world and fight the Gloom again than mess something up here in the past and not even have that chance.

We had flight magic cast on us so we could head to the floating tower, and went inside. The place was huge, how it was floating like it was I would love to find out. Of course we had floating ships in our time, perhaps the technique was similar. (And floating islands of course, not that anyone could reach those to ask the people living there- if anyone even still did- how they had done it) There were stairs running the height of the walls, and many separate chambers that had been made simply by stringing up some fabric. The majority of the ground floor was the ritual space, now dominated by 13 people in robes that were chanting something. A glowing symbol on the floor around them completed the look, but we were hustled up some stairs to a viewing booth protected by a thick glass.

"Ah, Barnabus, good to see you again!" said the man we found there, getting up from a desk. He had various papers strewn around him that he had been intensely studying. "Glad you made it out of there. You have good news for me?" He was middle aged, wearing the same white robes as the others in the circle but with a gold sash thrown over it.

"We do… Prelate?"

"Great. I'll take the key and we can finally finish the ritual! By God we'll beat the Gloom yet."

I started to take off my pack to get the key but Barnabus gave a short shake of his head. I looked at him.

"Ah, before that, tell me exactly why this so called key is needed?"

Does he think we shouldn't give it over? Would your contemporary counterpart have questioned any of this? Don't change the future!

"I suppose you're entitled to a short overview, we have been rather secretive about the whole thing. Humm, yes, I can wait another minute or two. We've discovered that the dimension the Gloom originally came from holds another being. A being of light, to balance the being of darkness that has been unleashed upon our world. The key will help us unlock that being, so they may bring the fight here and help us with their old enemy. We've been able to speak to it, briefly, but now the door can be opened so it can come here. Don't worry, we've done our research. The Enlightenment, as it calls itself, is a force for good. We can trust it."

"Another being, you say? And you're sure it can be trusted? It isn't some trick of the Gloom to get behind our lines or something to that effect?"

"As far as we can tell, no. Now, the key, if you please?" He held out a hand.

I looked to him, and he shrugged. "You're the smart one."

"We don't know enough about the script to deviate now," I decided, and handed it to him. He looked a little confused but once the key was at hand his focus shifted to that.

"Excellent! Yes, most excellent. Look at the craftsmanship. Feel the power of it! I must away at once, you're welcome to stay here and watch!" He rushed down the stairs to take his place at the ritual.

"Unless this is deviation from the script," Arrys mused. "Maybe we four were turned away and didn't steal the thing. So this Enlightenment fellow never showed up."

"And maybe that's why the Gloom remains to this day," I countered. "Perhaps this being can tell us how to seal it back away again for good. Maybe we can take and hide the key once they're done with it, so we can dig it up in our time. Use it to lock the door again, as this one is being unlocked." Or beg the help of whatever they're summoning once more.

"Agreed," they allowed after humming a moment. "Any deviation could have dire consequences, however we know so little about all this just not having flight magic, and thus returning late, may have consequences we'll never know."

"Little late to be having second thoughts now, we already handed him the blasted thing," Gorde remarked. "At least this being is a being of light, according to them."

"But to be fair," I countered, "so was Lucifer."

"That's a fair point. It's a bit strange, isn't it? The poem referred to three choices, have we made any of them yet? Was one giving this guy the key?"

"Consider what would have happened if we saw the attack on the city and noped right out of there," Arrys countered.

"Noped?" Barnabus asked.

"You heard me. Another person or team would likely have been sent soon, and history would have been placed on the same track. Now if we had stolen it and then started running and never stopped, that would be a choice. I don't see how that results in us going home though. We have to see all this through."

"But then choice is meaningless!" I protested. "How are we even to know what these three choices are?"

"Indeed," agreed Arrys, "if only there was some sort of dialog choice that appeared before you, so you could know which decisions were the big ones, and could take your time thinking them over while the rest of the world simply paused until you made up your mind."

"Sounds awfully specific-"

"Hey look," Barnabus said, pointing down at the ritual chamber. They were gesturing and chanting at a fever pitch and as suddenly as a blink there was a creature of light down there, too bright to really look at directly. Light shone now around the walls, and in a familiar way to my eyes. It looked like the energy the crystals in my cave shone with. Very interesting. And perhaps a clue, or a portent of things to come.

Mr. Prelate and the being spoke, of course we were up a set of stairs and behind thick glass so we couldn't really tell what they were talking about, but they soon reached some kind of agreement it seemed. The man bowed and the creature sort of drifted around probably looking the place over. With that the guy returned to the stairs, and came back into the room.

"A complete success, as you can see!" he beamed. "Let me get you your payment and you can be on your way!" He hefted a large sack out a safe, seemed to regard it a moment, and shrugged. "Eh, take the whole thing, you've earned it. Consider it a bonus for your fine service." He handed it over to Barnabus who staggered trying to lift it, and Gorde came and took it from him.

We'll need to bury that somewhere no one will ever find it. No one but us, in the future.

"We have so much work to do now. Seeing what The Enlightenment can really do, drawing up plans to push back the Gloom. I finally feel we have a chance now!"

"Do you mind if we meet them?" Barnabus asked. "After all we did play an instrumental part..."

"Of course! Come on down, perfectly safe. Very kind, offered us their full support in our campaign without asking for anything in return. Couldn't be happier. Come on, come on."

We followed him down the stairs, the light growing brighter and brighter around them.

Wish I could get some kind of idea what sort of being this is, I can hardly see them at all with all the light they're giving off. Why are they glowing so much, anyway? What creates it? Magic?

"Enlightenment, these are the four that brought back the key that unlocked the door that brought you here!" he began. He named us all without hesitation, clearly he knew these bodies well at least.

"I'm glad your concern for the well-being of your world overrode your suspicions, so that these fine beings could call upon me," the floating creature said to us.

And how does it speak our language? Or is it like an angel, and just doesn't need to worry about it?

"Of course, I hope you are able to help these people here. Is there anything we can do to help you further?" Barnabus asks.

"I will need more information about your exact situation before I can answer that. I'm sure there will be much to do to prepare for the coming encounters."

"We don't have anything else lined up for you," the Prelate told us. "Go spend some of your earnings, you deserve it."

"When the work is done and our world is safe, perhaps," I countered. "Do you recognize us, at all?" Realizing I was being a bit hasty but there might not be another opportunity to ask.

"There is something strange about you," the being admitted. "Quite unlike these others. A displacement, if you will. You must understand, my existence is not tied to linear time or physicality as you understand it. But at the same time I am now constrained by the place I find myself in. I must warn you, just my presence may impact the timestream of your plane in unknown ways. It is good I was summoned in the place I was, to minimize my impact."

"Where is all this coming from?" the Prelate asked. "You didn't run into some kind of time loop in the city or something, did you?"

"Something happened, we aren't exactly sure what," Arrys told him. "I'm not sure this is the right place to discuss it."

"I see?" He clearly didn't.

"I can offer some advice," said Enlightenment. "The best way to solve a temporal displacement is to understand where your place in time is."

So I just think really hard about home and I'll go there? Maybe click my heels together? How does that make sense? We all traded a look.

"Oh dear, I sense confusion. Perhaps I was not as clear as I had hoped. Unfortunately, I am unsure how to better explain it. I've never needed to before, you understand."

"We'll keep it in mind," I assured them.

"Meanwhile, let's not bother The Enlightenment any further," the Prelate suggested. "We need to move quickly after that attack, it's already been too long honestly, other cites could be at risk and we need to start making plans."

"Of course," we all agreed. Barnabus waved to the creature. "Bye!"

There was a flash of light.

We blinked our eyes and found ourselves in a familiar looking cave. Simply take away the crystal growths found in my cave, and you would have this cave. It even had the same door, or at least a door we were looking at. I hastily looked around to see who was there, and it was our group and Herald, who was slumped over, looking at the door. He looked back at me with a tired expression. "And now it is done," he intoned with a nod, as if I, Helvena, should know exactly what he was talking about.

But once again- I did not. Hold on, we're bouncing through time now? What happened to these bodies in the meantime? Did they suddenly find themselves in the chamber having jumped from outside town? Did they feel they just suddenly decided to cast unknown magic and have different personalities for a day, and then shrugged it off? Crap, what happened to that money? And I need to find a safe place to bury this spellbook too, sorry random lady but hopefully like me you carry only a copy I may need your spells in the future. The cave wall may work fine, it's stone and wouldn't be disturbed- Oh shoot he's looking at me still I need to say something! "I just hope history judges us properly for what we've done today." Yes, nailed it! Maybe that will get some information out of him without letting him know I have no idea what just happened.

"If I thought it likely anyone would ever know, I would be more concerned," said Herald. "They've already admitted they aren't a part of our linear time, locking them up like this probably won't even inconvenience them."

We traded a look. So, wait, they locked the Enlightenment up in this cave? Why? Were we a party to that? I doubt they went quietly. But there's just us and this guy...

"And we're sure this is the best thing to do," Arrys asked, looking the door over.

"The Gloom would have been impossible to overcome without the Enlightenment. You know this. If it could have been destroyed, and our safety here assured, then yes, sending it back would be the thing to do. But such a powerful tool as this is too valuable to simply throw away when it will surely be needed again."

"Instead of just asking it to come back, at that time, and expecting a more favorable response than simply locking it up in a cave for a thousand years."

"I don't understand," Herald decided as he looked us all over. "You've all been instrumental in all this the last ten years. Why the sudden hesitation?"

Ten years? You've got to be kidding me. And that was an organization fighting all that time, not just a couple of random people like this time. How are we supposed to do anything? I guess maybe if we've caught it before it can spread too far, we may have an easier time of it? Who knows how long the Gloom was around before someone picked up on it and realized something had to be done? It does seem connected to the war so maybe they were dealing with multiple fronts. We just have the one. And it does seem to operate by possession. Maybe if we simply take care of all the cult members around here- that is Gloomhaven back in our time- it won't have anyone to do anything for it and will go back home again. Will it really help us after we locked it up? I have to doubt it. "Take care of" listen to me. Murder them, I mean. But what other choice do we have?

"Perhaps being faced with the reality of a situation is different from the hypothetical of the situation," Gorde told him.

I gave a start, that was quite deep coming from him, I was impressed.

"It's done now, it's too late to have second thoughts. Barnabus." He handed the key over. "Take this and hide it. It's the only thing that can release the Enlightenment again. Where you hide it is up to you. We, the celestial guardians, are not to know. Ah yes." He reached into a pocket and pulled out a sheet of paper. "But someone must guard that knowledge, here is the location of the person you must deliver the information to."

"I won't let you down!"

"You never have. I suppose this is goodbye, I doubt we'll ever need to meet again." He shook Barnabus' hand, nodded to the rest of us, and cast a spell, teleporting away.

Barnabus looked down at the key in his hand. "So we're just going to let them out again right now, right?"